Sphere No.44 (Mar 2018)

CKHH’s coolest employees show up ready to get the job done under the most extreme conditions. and surviving a trip to the local Tim Hortons doughnut shop or Ikea warehouse and working on a North Sea supply ship dodging icebergs, or climbing ice- shrouded cell phone tower masts near the Kebnekaise mountain. CKHH’s coolest employees show up ready to get the job done under the most extreme conditions. “There is no badweather, only bad clothes” So goes an old Swedish saying. According to Maria Jonsson, Head of Networks, 3 Sweden, staying indoors for the winter is not an option for the Swedes. 3 Sweden field technicians serving base stations, according to Ms Jonsson, “always need to be ready to go out and secure service for our customers,” and ensure Swedes are connected everywhere, all the time. Modern Swedes, in contrast to their forebears, have access to weather apps – with the data coming via the 3 network – and see them as a daily necessity. In northern climes, spending extended periods outdoors is not taken lightly. People from these countries are surprised that terms like ‘frostbite’ have to be explained to people from the tropics, as it is second nature to them. With this condition, your extremities (fingers, toes, tip of the nose or ears) can literally freeze, resulting in masses of blackened dead cells that normally require amputation. In extreme cases, it can proceed up the limbs, proving fatal. I Swedes know how to dress for the weather, but gloves present a special difficulty as keeping hands warm yet unencumbered enough to do technical work is always a challenge. The same is true for the Swedes’ cold-weather compatriots in Canada. Park’N Fly, Inc, the airport parking service in 12 locations serving seven airports, provides cold weather clothing for a wide range of employees who have principally outdoor duties to deal with in winter, such as snow removal teams. Canadians have a range of vocabulary for cold weather wear that they don’t even realise is unknown to the rest of the world. Ask any non- Canadian what a toque (or tuque) is and you’ll get a blank look (it’s a woollen hat, often with a pom-pom on top). Husky Energy Inc deals with some of the most extreme temperatures with operations in Canada’s Far North, including the Arctic Ocean and North Sea. Temperatures as low as -40°C (which is also -40°F, the only place the two are the same on the thermometer) are not uncommon in the winter. This effective temperature is even lower when the wind chill factor is considered. More expensive full thermal, cold winter wear is provided for all employees. Boots must not be just warm, but are specified for safe working at -40°C. Sphere 39 covered some of the special uniforms made for workers on offshore platforms – see QR code below. They include flight suits with cold weather protection for travelling to and from the SeaRose FPSO by helicopter in case a trip over water goes awry. Full immersion suits will hopefully never be used, as they would only be required in the event of a full evacuation into the icy North Atlantic waters. >> Sphere #44 2018 15 When roads are frozen, the skies are clear. Helicopters are a wintertime must for 3 Sweden. f you were told at the job interview, that for a few months of the year, you would be expected to go out and get your job done in sub- zero temperatures, would you take the job? Don’t worry – you get a hat. You’ll be fine. In fact, employees of the CKHH family get a lot more than a hat. There is special training, special equipment, extraordinary modes of transport and custom-designed infrastructure that not only makes business possible, but also protects staff who put their hands up for cold weather duty. Recruits in these countries have normally – but not always – grown up with the cold, and living with it is in their blood. But there is a huge difference between living in a Toronto or Stockholm suburb These flight suits offer more than stylish orange — they’re designed for safe passage by helicopter over chilly Arctic seas.